The Diva and his Newbie
by That Girl Again
Summary: Kurt Hummel has his first lead role in a musical. Blaine Anderson is the last minute replacement for the other leading role. They met on stage. They kissed on stage. They cried on stage. They were married on stage. This is the story of how the diva and the newbie fell in love. AU. OCs. One-Shot.


**This is dedicated to my lovely friend Cassandra, because sometimes she needs a bit of fluff in her life. Also, yes, she is the Cassie mentioned. ;)**

**The Diva and his Newbie**

Kurt Hummel knew he was different, he'd known for as long as he could remember.

Blaine Anderson thought everyone was like him. Until he realized they weren't.

They met on stage.

They kissed on stage.

They cried on stage.

They were married on stage.

This is the story of how the diva and the newbie fell in love.

Kurt rushed to the studio. He was _so_ late. Well, ten minutes. But for the first rehearsal for the production, where he was playing the lead, it was a pretty big deal.

Latte in one hand, script in the other, his bag slung over his shoulder, he stumbled through the door and was met by the rest of the cast's snickers.

"I was right!" Rebecca called out. "Pay up, Emily."

Emily grumbled but reluctantly handed over a ten dollar bill.

"What even?"

"They made a bet," Devyn, the choreographer, a girl with short, light brown hair and a pretty complexion, explained. "Emily bet you'd be twenty minutes late."

Rebecca laughed again, her brown eyes crinkling behind her glasses, her curly hair bouncing.

"Thanks for the faith, guys," Kurt grumbled, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Anyway, Ricky isn't here yet, so don't stress," Devyn said. "Drink your coffee in peace."

Kurt set his bag down and peered around the room, noticing everyone was either on their phones or eating a small breakfast. He noticed someone he hadn't seen at the reading the previous week, which was strange.

"Cass?" he called out.

"Yeah?" she asked, sitting down and motioning for him to sit next to her against the wall. Her short hair was pulled into those adorable pig tails that still somehow didn't make her look like a child, and her light eyes were narrowed as she scrutinized Kurt, her longtime friend.

"Who's the curly haired guy over there?" Kurt asked, motioning to the man, who's back was to him.

"Oh, Blaine?" Cassandra clarified. "He's.. well, Fred had a last-minute emergency and he won't be able to do the show—at all—and that guy was in Ricky's wife's class, and apparently he's spectacular. He auditioned and got the part only yesterday. He doesn't even have a script yet. Since today we're only starting on choreography, the girls have been telling him not to worry, but he's still really nervous."

"Does he know about the part he's playing?"

"Probably."

Kurt hummed as he drank the last of his latte, then got up to toss it in the trash bin. As he walked back towards Cassie, he caught a glimpse of the new guy on one of the many mirrors surrounding the dance studio.

With curly dark hair, olive skin and honey hazel eyes, wearing a T-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers, Kurt concluded that, yes, while undeniably attractive, this guy was most probably straight, and no, he probably didn't know his leading partner would be Kurt. Kurt really hoped this Blaine wasn't homophobic—they probably would not find another replacement.

He sat back down next to Cassie, who began telling him about her recent trip to Chicago, where she'd been visiting her friend Adriana, and all the nonsense the two girls did, like eat a whole lot of Nutella and watch _The Notebook _and _Drake & Josh_, until Devyn called them all to start the stretching.

The twenty actors got up and claimed a spot on the floor, then imitated anything and everything Devyn did for the next twenty minutes.

"Good to see all of you are in good shape," she said. "Some of the numbers I've already choreographed are pretty intense, so we're gonna warm up. Ricky'll be here in about ten minutes, so just follow my lead."

Fifteen minutes later, Ricky, their director, walked into the studio, a clipboard in one hand and a latte in the other.

"Alright, everybody listen up," he called. "First, I wanted to say thank you for not being as late as me." They laughed. "Seriously, though. I planned on being here at the time I asked you all to be here, but my wife got held up and I had to help her, and I couldn't make it until now. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for being here, and I hope you're ready for some hard work. We open in ten weeks, and I need everyone off book in two weeks. Now, I assume you're all warmed up so let's start with the opening number."

Devyn separated the soloists from the chorus, then put them all in their positions, Kurt in the back and Blaine in the front. As the number progressed, they'd come face to face, only to be ripped away by their respective friends, or actors from the sides, only to be helplessly seeking each other out for the rest of the scene.

Kurt could sense some tension behind Blaine's face, and though surprised at how easily he could read this person he'd never even spoken to, he was unsure as to why it was there. They hadn't even touched yet. And he knew the script called for lots more.

He wondered how the hell he would get through this if his leading man couldn't even stand to be within touching distance of him.

After three hours of dancing, they were sent out to lunch around one, and Cassie, Rebecca and Kurt went straight to the deli just two blocks over. They were good friends, having known each other since they started auditioning for the same shows, and though this was the first time they were in a show together, it already felt like home.

As they sat down at their usual table, Rebecca pushed her glasses up a bit and Cassie brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and then they both simultaneously looked at him.

"What, do I have something on my face?" Kurt asked. "What is it?"

"We want to talk to you about Blaine," Rebecca said bluntly. Cassie elbowed her.

"Ugh, yes, my God, could you _see_ how uncomfortable he was? I didn't think they'd cast someone so homophobic to play a freaking _gay_ character but I guess it is what it is. I mean, I could tell he didn't want to be dancing with me the second we got close enough to touch." Kurt frowned. "I'm gonna miss Fred, he wouldn't have been like this."

"What are you going on about?" Cassie said. "He was _totally _checking you out!"

"Are you blind?" Kurt frowned. "Is this like all those times you tell me I'm hot even in T-shirts and jeans? When you're blatantly lying to my face?"

"Okay, for the record, you are like the hottest guy ever, and if you played for my team, there's no way I wouldn't be in love with you," Rebecca said, Cassie nodding solemnly in agreement. "And second, _everybody_ noticed him staring at you. Why do you think he kept messing up?"

"It's probably because he's not used to this kind of rehearsal," Kurt said. "Ricky did say he hadn't been in a show since his high school production of _Grease_, where he played Teen Angel—out of all the parts, I mean, really? And suddenly he's the lead, three years later, in an almost Broadway production—and a new, original one, to boot."

"It doesn't matter who he played in _Grease_, what matters is that he's hot, you're hot, so you should look into that," Cassie said. Her phone beeped. "Hold on." She took it out, unlocked it and read the message. "See? Even Adriana thinks so. I sent her a picture of Blaine looking at you while you were talking to Devyn during one of the breaks and she says he's totally in love."

"He's probably straight, with a girlfriend, and what is Adriana even doing, texting you right now? Isn't she supposed to be in class?" Kurt asked.

"This is her lunch break on Tuesdays," Cassie said simply.

"That reminds me, I have to thank her for recommending that one book to me," Rebecca said absently, taking out her phone.

And suddenly, Kurt was the only one eating as both girls texted the same girl who was miles away, with apparently more knowledge of Kurt's love life than him.

The following day, Blaine got his script. The next day, he talked to Kurt before rehearsal started. The conversation went a little like this:

"Okay, I'm Blaine, and I think we should get to know each other a bit in order to play this correctly and true to life. So should we go out to dinner or should I come over to your place or will you come to my apartment or what?"

A moment of silence.

"My roommate's got a date, so how about I go to your place tonight?"

"…but won't they be out?" Blaine asked.

"She gave me specific instructions to not be within twenty miles of the vicinity, so I think I really shouldn't be," Kurt shrugged. "Rachel is a force of nature. So we'll go to your place after rehearsal?"

Blaine shrugged. "Okay."

The walk to Blaine's apartment, though short, was a bit awkward. Once Kurt was sitting on the couch and Chinese had been ordered, Blaine offered Kurt some water and sat down beside him, not close enough to be touching but not far enough for it to seem as if Blaine was uncomfortable.

"Why'd you insist on me being here?" Kurt asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I really should have asked before," Blaine said sincerely. "You probably have plans and I really just—it was a spur of the moment thing, really stupid of me, I'm sorry! You—if you want, you can leave."

"Blaine," Kurt said, "calm down. I was just gonna go with Cassie to a little shop to help her pick out a gift for her friend's birthday, but she said she could go by herself. I just wanted to know why I was here."

Blaine blushed. "Sorry." He frowned a bit. "Cassie's the pretty one with the short hair, right?" Kurt nodded. "She's nice."

"Yeah, she is," Kurt said, nodding.

"So, um, anyway, basically, I read the script over last night, and I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable doing the things we're going to be doing," Blaine said slowly.

"You want to make sure I'll be comfortable dancing and singing with you? Or kissing you?" Kurt scoffed. "Shouldn't I be the one worrying about that? I mean, you've been pretty clear about your feelings towards me since the first day of rehearsal."

Blaine blushed. "I didn't think you'd noticed."

"It's pretty noticeable how uncomfortable you are near me," Kurt said. "I'm surprised you're sitting on the same couch as me, actually."

"Wait, excuse me?"

"I just noticed you're a bit homophobic, is all," Kurt said.

"Um, Kurt," Blaine said, an amused smile lighting up his already gorgeous face. "I'm not homophobic. It would actually be pretty awkward if I was, for myself. And everyone else involved."

"How so?"

"Well, it's pretty much impossible for a gay man to be homophobic, don't you think?" Blaine laughed.

"Well, my high school bully was so far in the closet he must've had tea parties with Aslan," Kurt deadpanned.

Blaine barked out a laugh. "Really?" Kurt nodded. "Your high school bully was gay? And he bullied you for being gay?"

"Well, lots of guys bullied me for being gay, but he just kind of made my life a living hell," Kurt said. "It got worse when he hate-kissed me, and then threatened to kill me. My dad eventually found out and he got expelled, but it was still bad."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Blaine said quietly.

"It's okay, not your fault," Kurt supplied. "So anyway, since we've gotten the whole 'we're not uncomfortable with this' out of the way, I need to ask this. Are there any jealous boyfriends that are gonna come at me with pitchforks for kissing you onstage every night?"

Blaine laughed. "No," he said. "My fish maybe, but no boyfriend. Any boyfriends that are gonna send an assassin my way?"

"Well, maybe my friend Brittany's cat, I'm pretty sure Lord Tubbington has a thing for me, but no human males," Kurt laughed.

"So, we're clear on that." They smiled. "Do you wanna run lines or something?"

"Maybe we could get to know each other, huh?"

And they spent their entire evening just talking. Blaine discovered that Kurt's glee club had been the one to beat them twice in a row—and though he didn't say it aloud, he also realized Kurt was the boy he'd crushed on from afar for a few weeks after the competition—and Kurt found out that Blaine had gone to Dalton, a school he'd been interested in going before he'd seen the cost of tuition. They talked about their families, their friends, their favorite musicals and movies, their school work and college classes, and by the time Kurt realized he should call Rachel to see if it was safe to go home, it wasn't really safe to walk outside alone.

Obviously, Rachel didn't answer her cell phone.

"Why don't you stay here instead? You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the sofa, and I'll wake you up extra early so you can go home and change," Blaine offered.

"That's really nice, but you don't have to do that," Kurt said. "I can get a cab or something, it's okay."

"Kurt, it's almost midnight," Blaine said. "Just crash here. Rehearsal tomorrow isn't till noon because Devyn has to go help out at her niece's elementary school, and Ricky said it was fine to come by after lunch. Just stay here."

"Fine. You better have an extra tooth brush," Kurt said, settling back down on the sofa.

"You can borrow some PJs, too, if you want," Blaine supplied, sitting back down next to him, slightly closer.

Blaine grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Oh my God, can we _please_ watch this?"

Kurt could only give him a fond look before nodding.

He concluded that Blaine was just a shy guy that—once he opened up—was a puppy.

So of course he'd want to _The Little Mermaid_ at half past eleven.

He was in his apartment by nine, after having a nice, amiable breakfast with Blaine and taking a cab to his apartment.

Rachel, obviously, jumped to conclusions, not even excusing herself for not answering her phone, and with her incessant talking almost made him late for rehearsal.

And then at rehearsal, in between dance numbers, Blaine would send him a shy smile, and then of course Cassie and Rebecca would giggle and squeal and pester him with questions.

"I'll tell you over dinner, okay," Kurt sighed. "Now isn't the best time."

Of course, they paid his promise no attention and cooed over Blaine's apparent 'heart eyes' for the rest of the rehearsal.

It was even worse by the last number they were choreographing for the night, because it was the number where they finally danced together, and of course, they had to be in character for these because why not, and Blaine's 'heart eyes' couldn't be bigger.

Cassie's snickers didn't even faze them.

Lounging on Rebecca's bed after dinner later that night, Kurt told them about Blaine, how he was a sweet, shy guy, and how he was genuinely interested in playing the part right and wanted to get to know Kurt.

"Somebody's gonna have a boyfriend soon," Cassie said.

Cassie was Rebecca's roommate, which was pretty perfect for everyone involved.

"I ship it," Rebecca said. Cassie giggled.

"You two are acting like little school girls," Kurt huffed. "He's nice, yeah, and he's gay, too, but he's also playing a part. He's an exceptional actor. In five months, when this is all done, he'll probably forget about me."

Both girls frowned but remained silent. When Kurt was in one of his pessimistic moods, nothing they said would get through to him. Not even Rachel, who in Cassie's opinion wasn't even that good of a friend but hey, whatever.

"I still think he likes you," Rebecca broke the silence.

Kurt sighed. "I'm going back to my place. Finn's coming in tomorrow to get his mom something special for her birthday and Rachel's gonna be there and I need the energy if I'm gonna survive that nuclear bomb."

"Have fun! And don't be late for the reading!"

On the cab ride to his apartment, Kurt thought about what the girls said. Blaine didn't like Kurt. Not in that way, at least. He seemed like a friendly guy, and he probably talked to everyone like that. And Kurt wasn't Blaine's type anyway, probably. He was just... Kurt.

The next day, Finn of course had to arrive just as Rachel was leaving, primping her hair one last time and adjusting the low neckline of her shirt once more before opening the door to find him there.

She promptly shrieked and called, "KURT!"

He calmly walked to the door. "I told you Finn would be coming today, there's no need to freak out."

"Ugh, just.." She shook her head and walked past Finn, calling out a goodbye before disappearing down the stairs.

Finn looked kind of dazed, and Kurt guessed it had something to do with Rachel's choice of wardrobe, but hey, what did he know?

They ended up picking a simple gift for Carole, and then Finn accompanied Kurt to the studio where the reading was being held, walking inside with him.

"Cass! Rebecca!" Kurt called out once he was inside the room.

Both girls strode towards him, hugging him and then looking up at Finn.

"Cassie, Rebecca, this is Finn," he said. "Finn, these are two of the most beautiful girls in New York."

"Nice to meet you," Finn said, looking around the room. "So, dude, where's the guy that you're gonna be like kissing and stuff?"

"I ship it!" the girls giggled.

Kurt shook his head. He looked around for Blaine and saw him casually observing the scene, and waved him over. He didn't notice Blaine's slight reluctance.

"Finn, this is Blaine, he'll be playing Michael," Kurt provided.

"Kurt, I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend," Blaine said, a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes gracing his face.

"What, no! Ew, gross," Kurt said as Finn's face screwed up.

"I mean, no offense, dude, but I like boobs and stuff, so," Finn said.

"He's my brother," Kurt said. "Step-brother."

"Oh." Blaine blushed.

Cassie and Rebecca giggled.

An awkward silence settled around them for a minute.

"Well, I think I'm just gonna go back the way I came," Finn said. "Uh, Kurt, I guess I'll see you whenever you come home, and uh, thanks for the help with Mom's gift. I probably would've ended up giving her another _World's Best Mom_ apron or something."

"She already has five of those," Kurt muttered. "See you, Finn."

They hugged, and then Finn left, and Cassie and Rebecca burst out laughing.

Because if Kurt couldn't see how much Blaine liked him, then he was obviously blind.

Several weeks later, when all was choreographed and all the steps were learned and lines were memorized, they began practicing on the stage.

That was when Kurt started seeing a different side of Blaine.

He'd seen Blaine shy, uncomfortable, content, honest, and jealous. But now he saw loving, passionate and distraught, and all was directed at him.

Or at Larry, his character.

Kurt couldn't help it though. Every time Blaine looked at him with those eyes, told him how much he loved him, how he couldn't wait to spend the rest of their lives together, how he wanted to make all his dreams come true, he couldn't help but fall in love with him just a little bit.

And then the director would yell, "CUT!" and Kurt would remember that Blaine didn't love him, Michael loved Larry.

But it was pretty hard to believe when Blaine was looking at him with _those eyes_, and smiling _that smile. _

It also didn't help that Blaine was insanely attractive to the point of it being ridiculous. Anything Blaine did, Kurt found endearing. Or arousing.

Cassie and Rebecca noticed. They sent daily progress updates to their friend Adriana, and Adriana was predicting them getting together before opening night. Kurt found the whole thing ridiculous. Because no matter how much he liked Blaine, for Blaine it was just a character. And Kurt was just another guy.

Except Cassie insisted Kurt wasn't just another cast mate to Blaine.

Kurt and Blaine went out twice a week. On Tuesdays for dinner after rehearsal and on Saturdays for coffee before their fittings. It had originally started as Blaine wanting to run lines and eventually just turned into hanging out for a few hours.

Kurt had Blaine had so much in common, they complemented each other perfectly, and they worked well together.

Cassie was sure this was why they'd be a great couple. Rebecca always added that they'd also be really hot together. Adriana always said she wanted them together because she couldn't get a boyfriend of her own. "I'm living vicariously through you, Kurt, so don't screw it up!"

It was a week into their rehearsing before they got to the first kiss scene.

"Alright, I assume you've both kissed before so we don't need to coach you on technique," the director said.

All the other actors, sitting in the audience, laughed. Kurt noticed Cassie had her phone out, and realized she was probably recording this to send to Adriana later. _Oh crap_.

"So I just want to let you know, I want this kiss sweet, tender, and just innocent. The rest of the kissing can be however you feel like it, but this one, this first kiss, is the most important of all," the director said intently. "This is Larry realizing that this is _it_ for him. This is Michael realizing Larry was right there all along. So remember, sweet, tender, innocent, and so adorable I want people to get cavities from looking at it. Now, go!"

"_My dear, please, just, don't go,"_ Blaine said, in character already, his lines flowing effortlessly from his mouth, as if he truly meant them. _"I can't stand to have you slip from my grasp one more time."_

Kurt closed his eyes, just as the script called for, and he put his hands on Blaine's shoulders. He felt Blaine's breathing hitch, and suddenly, Blaine was there. He could feel Blaine's breath on his face. He could smell Blaine, so, so close. He could smell the sweat from the vigorous dance numbers that had been practiced, he could smell Blaine's cologne, and his coffee on his breath, and something that was so very distinctly _Blaine_.

And then Blaine's lips were on his, hesitant and soft, warm and sweet. And Kurt wound his arms around Blaine's neck and pulled him closer, moving his lips against Blaine's, just for a moment, before pulling back and resting his forehead on Blaine's.

"_I'll never walk away from you again_," Kurt said, his voice shaky and breathless.

"Boys, that was _perfect_!" their director called out. "Everybody take five, after this we're gonna go back from the top, run it again and then you're all free to go."

All the cast members got up and stretched, some walked around, looking for their waters or their bags. Blaine smiled hesitantly at Kurt and Kurt blushed, pulling his arms back and taking a cautious step back.

Cassie and Rebecca appeared at Kurt's side as Blaine got off the stage, and took a picture of his face, which was still somewhat dazed.

"And sent."

"Adriana's gonna flip. She's probably dying right now because she can't get her phone," Rebecca said.

"You totally sent her the kiss, didn't you?" Kurt muttered. "Why even?"

"Because if you can't see how perfect you two are together, you need reassurance, and apparently we aren't enough, so Adriana's back up," Cassie said. "Now go wash your face or something, you look all hot and bothered, and I somehow think that's not how you want everyone to see you."

"Ugh."

Everything was going smoothly until it wasn't.

The rehearsal started out fine enough, until one of the dancers tripped over his own feet, accidentally pushing Kurt face-first on the wooden floor of the stage. He had scrapes on his hands, and dirt and grime all over his face, not to mention having the wind knocked out of him. And Rachel had kept him up all night talking about whatever problem she was having with her dance teacher _now_ and how this one guy in her class wasn't answering her calls, even after their magical night together, and how she sometimes missed Finn and he was just so _tired_ that he exploded.

The attitude started out sarcastic. Anything anyone would say, he would snap at or make a snide comment about. When people called him out on it, he got bitchy. When people told him to take it down a notch or go home, he got outright rude and unpleasant. When Devyn suggested he take a break, he yelled.

Blaine just watched, wide eyed.

Cassie and Rebecca stared helplessly, not knowing what to do.

Finally, lunch break arrived and Kurt exited the building before anyone else.

Everything just felt so wrong.

His crush on Blaine felt wrong. Living with whiny and suddenly very sexually active Rachel felt wrong. Cassie and Rebecca butting into everything suddenly felt wrong. Even acting alongside Blaine felt wrong.

And yet it felt so right.

Being held in Blaine's arms. Kissing Blaine, sweetly and yet also senseless, too. Talking to Blaine. Hanging out with Blaine. Eating out with Blaine.

But he knew it didn't mean anything other than two characters following a storyline, and two cast mates meeting up.

Kurt entered the coffee shop he frequented with Blaine and ordered a turkey sandwich and his usual coffee and sat at a table in the back, not wanting to be seen and just wanting to be alone. He was so concentrated on his lunch he didn't notice him until Blaine plopped down in front of him wordlessly and began eating his own salad.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kurt asked after a few moments.

Blaine swallowed. "You looked like you could us a friend, just to keep you company," he shrugged. "And I like to consider myself lucky enough to be your friend. Plus, I was hungry, too."

He smiled at Kurt once more, and for a moment, everything was right in the world.

It was one of their last rehearsals when they finally got the ring.

Sure, they'd been practicing the proposal scene for weeks, but now that Blaine actually had a ring to take out of his pocket, it felt real.

"_So, Larry Harrison, the man of my dreams, the only person I have ever truly loved, will you PLEASE marry me?"_ Blaine's eyes just made you believe he was asking for real.

Kurt's eyes widened. _"You idiot!"_ Blaine's face fell. _"I was going to buy a ring TONIGHT!" _And then he kissed Blaine for all he was worth and slipped the ring on his finger. _"Yes, yes! A million times yes!"_

Needless to say, Adriana got the video. Her responding text simply read, "ASGKGLSHJKSGH PLS".

Opening night, Kurt had had enough. He was tired of dancing around Blaine, hanging out, going out for coffee, talking for hours, and then going to rehearsal and acting like they were the most perfect couple in the history of forever. Kurt wanted more. And he was oh so sure Blaine did, too.

So before they went onstage, Kurt was going to tell him.

He was dressed in his costume for the opening scene, his hair and make-up deemed perfect by Sammi, the stylist and make-up artist, and he was warming up when he ran into Cassie.

"Guess who's here to watch our big night?" she said, positively beaming, her happy glow making her look even more beautiful.

"My parents and my roommate?"

"_Adriana_!"

Kurt's eyes widened. "She made it?!"

"I got her a ticket and she used her mom's frequent flier miles to get here, and she's sitting in just the perfect seat," Cassie informed him. "I wanted her to come backstage, but she wanted to be surprised with everything, so she's going to wait till after the show to see us."

"That's fantastic," Kurt said. "Um, could you help me find Blaine?"

Cassie's eyes widened and she squealed. "Are you going to tell him?"

Kurt nodded. Cassie grabbed his arm and they rushed off, asking everyone if they'd seen Blaine. No one had. They decided to go to his dressing room, and were about to knock when they realized three things simultaneously. The door was open, hanging ajar. Blaine wasn't alone. The guy inside had his back to them, and was passionately kissing Blaine.

Kurt took a step back, freed his wrist from Cassie's grasp and ran. He ran to his dressing room, tears already forming in his eyes.

He felt everything crashing down around him.

_Of course_ Blaine had a boyfriend. Because how in the hell could someone as compassionate and sweet and perfect as Blaine not?

Blaine had lied to him.

Nothing else mattered because Kurt had saved himself the embarrassment. He had been about to go and tell Blaine that he was in love with him and that if they could please go out on a date sometime, and all the while, Blaine had a _boyfriend_.

Kurt refused to let his tears fall. Sammi had worked hard on his make-up, dammit, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. His eyes would be puffy, his nose would be red, and his throat would close up if he allowed himself to cry. And he couldn't afford to be like that. The show opened in ten minutes.

But all the excitement, all the jitters and the nervous feelings were gone. All that was left was a strange numbness.

Kurt looked at his reflection in the mirror and detached himself from Larry.

"Larry is in love with Michael. Michael is in love with Larry. Blaine is not Michael and you are not Larry and Blaine does not love you." He steeled himself. "And from this moment on, whenever you see Blaine, you won't be seeing the guy who you've been falling in love with. You'll be seeing another cast mate. Because that's all he should have been in the first place."

There was a knock on his door.

"Kurt?" a tentative voice called out.

"Yes?"

"Everybody's looking for you," Emily said, coming inside. "We need to go."

So he faked a smile and got up, following Emily backstage.

Blaine saw him and smiled, and Kurt noticed his lips were redder and more swollen than usual. _I wonder how long they'd been kissing._

"Hey, a few of the guys told me you'd been looking for me, is there something you needed?" Blaine asked, helplessly oblivious.

Kurt sent a cold glare his way and stiffly replied with a simple, "Not anymore."

That night was the first night the tears he cried when Michael died were real.

Backstage, he was Kurt again, and when Adriana came in, long brown locks blowing past her, brown eyes alight with pride and excitement, holding a bouquet of yellow roses and gushing about how fantastic he, Cassie and Rebecca had been, he was happy. When she mentioned Blaine, however, Cassie cut her off and told Kurt to go find his parents.

Kurt happily rushed off, and Cassie was left to explain.

"He was gonna go and tell Blaine how he felt, and when we got to his dressing room, some guy was kissing Blaine. Kurt ran off, but just as he did, Blaine—ugh, it was like a really angsty book to watch, really—Blaine pushed the guy off and told him to never come back again ever or he was gonna press charges for assault, and that Sebastian could go and find someone else to go up his ass **{add. Inside joke.}** and the guy told him to think it over, and Blaine said he already loved someone else and he didn't want to screw it up, and that he couldn't trust this guy anymore. The guy rushed out and Blaine saw me there, and he asked if I knew where Kurt was. I just.. I couldn't do that to Kurt. Blaine doesn't know we saw. And Kurt doesn't know that the guy with the swooshy hair isn't Blaine's boyfriend."

"Don't you think we could fix this?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, if you _know_, you could tell either one to go and explain."

"Kurt wouldn't believe me, and Blaine would just probably feel awful about it and admit defeat," Cassie said.

"I think we should let them work it out," Adriana said. "If they're so perfect for each other, they'll work through this. This isn't the kind of thing you give up. From the audience, you could literally see how much Blaine really loves Kurt."

"Kurt's not gonna believe it."

And they were right.

For the next three weeks, Rebecca spent all her time trying to convince Kurt to try again. Kurt was just tired of it. He knew he was in love with Blaine. He knew Blaine had a boyfriend. So he had to move on.

That being said, very many times to both Cassie and Rebecca, they kept hounding him.

It didn't help that the man he was so in love with was around _all the time_.

It physically hurt every time Kurt looked at Blaine, and yet he had to kiss him every night. He had to marry him every night. He had to watch him die every night. And then do it again the next night.

It was worse during the wedding scene, where he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to actually be marrying Blaine. If only.

But no, he couldn't let himself go there.

Because it hurt.

It hurt even worse when Blaine still treated him the same. He was flirty as ever, possibly even more, and still sweet and nice and sexy and perfect.

And Kurt hated it. Because he so desperately wanted to not hurt anymore, but every time Blaine so much as looked at him, he turned into a pile of goo without a backbone. He couldn't help it. Blaine looked like such a puppy he couldn't even give him the cold shoulder.

So he carried on as if nothing was different.

And on the last night of the show, when the whole cast broke out in tears after curtain call, Kurt let out a sigh of relief. Because he wouldn't be around Blaine anymore, and he would have time to heal, instead of time to fall more in love.

It was six weeks after the show ended, when Kurt was getting coffee before his afternoon class, when he ran into him.

Blaine was just in front of him in the coffee line, and when he saw Kurt, he suggested they sit down and catch up.

Which sent Kurt spiraling down.

He wasn't over Blaine.

Not seeing him had just made every feeling stronger.

They chatted for twenty minutes, their coffee long gone, before exchanging phone numbers and promises of dinners like old times.

And if Blaine did a little happy dance outside the coffee shop, what did it hurt? And if Kurt turned around and saw it, who needed to know? And if he texted Cassie, Rebecca and Adriana and they all screamed, what did matter?

A few days later, Blaine showed up outside Kurt's class and formally asked Kurt to have dinner with him at his place.

"Won't your boyfriend be mad?" Kurt asked, his tone cold.

"What are you talking about? I told you a long time ago, I don't have a boyfriend," Blaine said, confused.

"But I saw you," Kurt said. "That guy.. on opening night.."

"You saw that?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded, glaring. "That guy. That was Sebastian. The guy who cheated on me for six months before I realized. He came back asking for another chance and when I told him no he grabbed my face and kissed me. I couldn't even move. I tried to push him off until I kicked him in the nads and basically told him to get out. I didn't want him. I wanted _you_. I still want you." He put his hand to Kurt's cheek. "I've wanted you since the moment I saw you walk into that studio, Kurt."

Kurt blushed.

"I want all of you. I want you and me, together. Until you get tired of me, I'll want you. Hell, even if you get tired of me, I'll still want you."

Kurt laughed.

"So, please, will you come have dinner with me?"

All Kurt could do was smile.

That night, the TV was left on, but neither man was watching. They were too busy sharing kisses that they knew meant something more than just a character's love for the other. These kisses all said the same thing.

_I love you, Kurt Hummel._

_I love you, Blaine Anderson._

Three years down the road, tears were shed, kisses were shared, and a wedding was celebrated, just like on the stage where they fell in love.

Except this time, it was their own romance. Their own forever.

**Thanks for reading, please drop a review :)**


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